Empty Embrace
by skyy64
Summary: "This is the story of how I died. Well I should start at the beginning. It all started in highschool where I met the love of my life and became what I am today...this is that story."
1. Chapter 1

I do not own kingdom hearts

Chapter one: Palpitations

This is the story of how I died

Well I should start at the beginning. It all started in high school where I met the love of my life and became what I am today...this is that story

All I remember was the darkness...the darkness that wouldn't let go no matter how hard I tried. But there was always a voice, a voice that told me to never quit, to keep trying escape. And then there would be a brilliant light followed by the words

" make your own miracles " then it would be over. But this time was different. This time there was no light, no voice , just darkness. Then, through the deafening silence I heard

" make your move Sora, or else..." But before I could wonder what it meant there was there was a loud riiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnngggg!...wait...what? That doesn't sound right...

"SORA WAKE YOUR ASS UP! YOUR ALARM HAS BEEN PLAYING THAT CRAP FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES NOW!."

"Just another day in the Strife household."

"DID YOU HEAR ME?! DONT MAKE ME COME UP THERE!"

"I HEARD YOU SERGEANT ASSWATER IM UP!" Sora replied. Sora rolled out of bed and into his slippers from last Christmas. As Sora was walking down the wooden stairs he saw his brothers room open.

"Roxas?" He called as he looked inside.

"Guess not." The kitchen smelled like eggs and bacon, the smell of grease and...well grease drenched the nostrils upon entry. Three people sat around the table.

"Hello family" Sora said as he walked in.

"Sup dipshit" Sora's older brother Vanitas said to him.

"Watch your language" said Cloud Strife, the dad of the family. Sora flipped Vanitas the middle finger from behind his father. Vanitas replied with a smirk.

"Dad Sora's flipping the bird." The sibling's younger sister Olette said.

"Sweetie...nobody likes a snitch." Sora and Vanitas couldn't hold back their laughter as their sister rolled her eyes.

" So Sora? Are you exited for your first day of highschool?" Sora's dad asked.

"Um no not really. I don't know should I be?"

"This is a great experience for you Sora. You get to make new friends and meet some interesting people. I remember when I wa-"

"Dad, no one wants to hear about the Stone Age right now." Vanitas said. Everyone laughed at their fathers expression.

" laugh it up while you can smartass. Just know...you could have ended up on a towel..." Vanitas' jaw fell as his father continued reading the paper.

"Welp, that's my que to leave. See ya" Sora said as he walked through the front door.

"Bye Sora" everybody said as he left. "...Hey dad?"

"Hmmm?" Cloud said without looking up from his paper.

"You were kidding right?...dad?"

-At Destiny Island Highschool

Sora parked his bike at the bike rack in front of the school as he approached the entrance.

"Yo Sora!" Sora looked around to see his best friend since 3 stroll up to him in a cool manner.

"Sup Riku."

"Haven't seen you since Axel and Saix's party. Where you been?"

" um you do remember what happened that night right?" "Dude so what if you were a little drunk? Being tipsy never hurt."

"Yea, no it has and I would've been fine if I didn't climb on top of the refrigerator with a cape tied around my neck claiming I could fly."

"...loser"

"Anyway Riku I won't be attending one of THEIR parties for a while"

"your loss kid" Riku said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"We should get going, class is about to start."

-In class

"Ok class. I'm your home room teacher Mr. Xemnas. I look forward to working with you guys. You may relax and talk quietly amongst yourselves until the bell rings for you to go to your next class."

The classroom erupted into chatter as the teacher shook his head. Sora looked around at his classmates and recognized a few people from his old school until he noticed a head of brilliant red-violet hair. And in that same moment, the person who owned said hair locked eyes with Sora. Sapphire met sapphire and Sora felt his heart beat

Ba-bump ba-bump

The girl smiled and looked away from Sora as he was left there dumbfounded.

"What was that"

-Later that day

It was the end of the day and Sora had one more class to go to. Music. Sora was very talented when it came to anything instruments so he didn't mind music being his last class.

"Alright guys, I'm your music teacher Demxy and by the end of this year each one of you will be able to play at least one instrument with ease."

Sora sat down at his desk and spaced out for the time being so he didn't notice a head of red hair take a seat next to him.

"I hope you guys like where you're sitting because that's your seat for the rest of the year and the person you're sitting next to is ALSO stuck with you for the rest of the year so introduce yourselves!" Sora rolled his eyes as he listened to the age old teacher trick. His eyes almost fell out of His head when he realized who was his partner.

" Um h-hi my name is Sora nice to meet you...shit" He cursed to himself for stuttering.

"Kairi and nice to meet you too" she chuckled and smiled laughing at the boy's nervousness.

"So uh, Kairi are you new here?"

"Yea I just moved her not too long ago. I'm from the mainland."

"Oh a city girl! So this must be pretty weird being out here on the islands?"

"Nah not really, it's a good change of scenery though. So Sora, what do you like to do for fun?" She asked.

" I LOVE video games and I like to read scripts in my spare time."

"Oooh a thespian, interesting" she said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Wait no I DO like girls! But I'm not into that kind of stuff or anything unless you are then I mean it's totally cool!"

"Relax spazzo I said THESPIAN!"

"What does that mean?" He asked.

" It means an actor" she said.

"Oh...I knew that...shit!..." He cursed to himself. Kairi giggled at him again as he turned pink.

"So what do you do in your downtime" He noticed something in her expression falter when he said downtime but as soon as it appeared, it was gone showing no trace of it ever being there.

"Well I like to dance. A lot. More like love it."

"Wow" he said stunned.

"Is that what you an on doing when your older?" He asked.

"Yea it's my passion."

"And here I was thinking that I was the only one on this island who wanted to be in the entertainment industry when I'm older"

"you want to be an actor?" She asked.

"More than anything. But you know for people like us it takes a lot to her where we want to go. It isn't easy and there has to be some sort of higher power looking out for you" He added jokingly.

"Yea I know that for sure." She giggled

"But sometimes you got to make your own miracles..."

...Ba-bump ba-bump...


	2. Complimentary-Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own kingdom hearts

Chapter Two: Complimentary

-At the Strife household

"Sora come here a sec." Vanitas said as Sora entered the house.

"What's up Vanitas?"

"I need you to help me tune this guitar, it's acting stupid again."

"Sure no problem" he said as he took up the guitar and plopped down on the couch. He he started fiddling with the pegs on top of the neck of the guitar.

"Guess who stopped by today?" Vanitas asked.

"I don't know, the mailman?" He said with a smirk

"And that's why you have no friends loser."

"Anyway, get to the point. Who stopped by?"

"Remember dad's old friend from work?"

"Oh! Leon came over and didn't stay for dinner?" Sora asked.

"He said he had to do something important and that he'd be by tomorrow."

As Sora tuned the guitar, his eyes fell on his brother. He had jet black hair that defied gravity much like his own. He had piercing yellow eyes that burned holes in your SOUL if you looked too long and most people considered him pure evil. Well they wouldn't be totally wrong. Let's just say that getting on his bad side wouldn't be wise. Him and his brother looked so much alike that people used to think that they were twins. Vanitas, despite all of this was FAR from unattractive and most girls actually digged his bad boy personality. Sora, unlike his brother had brown hair with piercing BLUE eyes that you could get lost in. Sora was more of a light hearted jester then a soul collection demon spawn and he preferred it that way anyway

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Vanitas asked as he caught Sora's eyes.

"Just watching the little bit that was left of your soul fly away." Sora shot back smiling

"Whatever queer" Vanitas said as he returned to strumming his other guitar. Sora gazed out the window, noticing the moving van parked out across the street in front of the house that hasn't been occupied in years.

"Is someone moving in across the street?" Sora asked.

"No duh dumbass, they moved in last week. They must be dropping off the rest of their stuff." Vanitas replied.

"You know who's in there?" Asked Sora.

"I don't know, probably people" he said sarcastically

"I meant the name of the family asshole" Sora shot back.

"I don't know but I heard its some rich guy and his daughter."

As Sora looked out the window he saw a familiar flash of red hair

"Plink!...uh-oh..."

"Sora...what was that?..." Vanitas said coldly.

"Dude I'll buy you a new one I swe-"

"SORA YOU FUCKTARD! YOU BROKE MY GUITAR STRING!"

Sora ran out he room as random objects in the living room suddenly became airborne. Sora entered the kitchen to find his mom Tifa sitting at the table reading mail.

"Hey mom" Sora greeted her.

"Hey sweetie, how was your day?" She said without looking up from her mail.

"Great" he replied. "How was work?"

"Yea like you care" she smirked.

"NOPE" he said with a grin.

"Have you had a chance to meet the new neighbors?" She asked.

"No. Why?" He said curiously.

"You should. As a matter of fact, go now and introduce yourself."

"But why?!" He asked as she looked up from her mail for the first time.

"Because you and Vanitas haven't done so yet. We've always done that with people who first move in, it's tradition. Remember how we felt when we first moved here?" His mom replied.

Sora hated remembering those times. Back then he had braces and a really high pitched voice. The kids in the neighborhood would make fun of him all the time to the point where he wanted to move. Until Riku came along and became his friend. They've been friends ever since.

"Fine" he said "Just don't expect me to make any friends."

"That's fine." She said with a knowing smile "Just be back by 11."

"It's 5:30 though?" He said puzzled.

"I know." she replied still smiling. Sora gave her a once over and left the kitchen to escape his mother's strange behavior.

Outside was beautiful. The temperature was just right. Not too hot that you start sweating but not too cool to wear a sweater.

"Got to love that island weather" Sora said as he walked outside. He slowly made his way up to the house until he came at the door. The door looked VERY expensive and Sora knew even more expensive things lied await inside.

"Ding dong" Sora rang the bell. It was quiet and as soon as Sora made to turn around and walk away it flew open.

"Can I help you?" A man dressed in a very sharp and expensive suit asked him.

"Um yea, I'm from the house across the street and my mom told me I should introduce myself to you guys" he said a little intimidated.

"I'm afraid no one is home except for the master's daughter. You'll have to come back another time." The man said

"Listen man." He said as he looked around and leaned in closer to the man. "If I go back there and tell that woman that I came back empty handed, there is gonna be a homicide tonight. So can you please let me just introduce myself at least to the girl that's here?" Sora pleaded.

The man looked around and hesitated for a brief moment. Sora thought he was gonna say no until he stepped aside and let him in.

"Upstairs to your left, last door on the right." He said as he pointed.

"Thank you." Sora said as he bowed to the man who smiled at the young mans antics.

Sora slowed made his way upstairs as he looked at the many paintings that hung along the way. He arrived at the room he was directed to and knocked softly.

"Hello?" Sora called. He didn't hear anything which confused him since the man downstairs said she was home. Against his better judgement he pushed the door open and for the second time that day his eyes almost fell out of his head.

"SORA?!"

"KAIRI?!"

"...WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?!" She screamed.

"I WAS JUST COMING TO INTRODUCE MYSELF!" He exclaims while trying to fight the blush that was creeping up his face.

"So you break into my house?!" She said still sort of yelling.

"The man in the suit let me in" he explained. "And I didn't know this was your house I swear!" He said trying to calm himself down.

"Well you could've knocked" she said looking not as mad as before but more embarrassed.

"I did!" He said

"A LITTLE HARDER NEXT TIME?!"

"Is everything alright" The man with the suit said opening the door.

"Yes, I was just a little...startled" Kairi said side eying Sora.

"Very well then" he said exiting the room.

The room got really quiet and Sora and Kairi just stood there awkwardly looking at each other. The tension in the room was palpable. Sora decided to break the tension for the greater good

"So...what now?" Sora asked.

"We could order Chinese?" Kairi said as she walked over to her queen sized bed. And like magic the sound of Sora's stomach filled the room.

"I'd like that." Sora said as he walked around her room. The room wasn't enormous, but it was FAR from small. Bookshelves lined the corner of one wall and on another, various electronics of every kind. Movies, DVD players, radios, playstaions...wait a minute.

"Kairi? Is that a playstation over there?" Sora asked

"What does it say on it?" She asked as she went into the bathroom to fix herself up.

"Uh playstation" he replied.

"Oh no that's just my cat" she said sarcastically. Sora rolled his eyes as he could feel the look she was giving him through the bathroom mirror without turning his head.

"You wouldn't happen to have Kingdom Hearts would you?" He asked hopefully.

"Duh it's my favorite game. It should be in the tray actually" she said.

"Would it be ok if I played for a bit?" He asked with even more hope in his eyes.

"Sure. I'm stuck on this one part anyway" she said as she turned on the system and handed him the controller.

"Thanks!" He said joyfully.

"I'm gonna order the Chinese now" Kairi said as she picked up her phone to call.

"Ok cool" he said not even turning his head from the game.

Kairi smiled at the boy and started dialing the number.

-Later on

"Aww come on! I've been at this same part for thirty minutes now!" Sora said frustrated. As they awaited their food, Sora and Kairi played video games to pass the time.

Knock knock knock

"Come in" Kairi said as the man with the suit walked in with two bags.

"Your Chinese food has arrived" he said handing them the bags.

"Thank you" Kairi said as she took them from him. He exited the room without another word.

"So what kind of sauce do you want Sora?" Kairi asked as she stood over the bags.

"Duck sauce please." He said still not moving from the game he was so invested in.

"Eww gross! You like duck sauce?" Kairi said turning up her nose.

"Yea I love it." He said. "What about you?" He asked her

" I'm more of a soy sauce girl myself." She said proudly. Now it was Sora's time to turn up his nose.

"I don't know how people eat that stuff." He said with a look of disgust plastered all over his face.

"I think it's time you take a break, don't you think!" Kairi asked him.

"Yea you're right. Besides my eyes hurt." Sora said as he rubbed his eyes.

They ate and finished their food all the while talking about random stuff and getting to know each other better.

"Hahaha and that's the day I learned never to get on his bad side again." Sora said as he finished his story. Kairi couldn't stop laughing the whole time. She looked at her phone and her eyes flew open.

"Sora!" She said a little too quickly which startled him. "What time are you supposed to be home?!" She said starting to get nervous

"Why? What time is it?" He asked worriedly.

"11:24!" She almost barked.

"...shit..."he said defeatedly.

Kairi giggled as she watched him get up and start to walk out the door.

"Hey Sora?" She said before he could say goodbye.

"Yea"

"...come back sometimes...this was fun..." She said with a blush forming on her face.

"S-sure" Sora said returning a blush of his own. "See ya later"

Sora made his way to the front door of her house but didn't see the butler guy that was there when he first arrived. He opened the door and felt the rush of air hit him. The temperature had dropped since the time he first arrived but still, was very nice.

He walked through the door of his house to see his mother still sitting at the table he left her at as if she never got up. She looked at him as he came in and smiled as she glanced at the clock that hung in the kitchen. Sora caught her eye and knew what she was getting at. He quickly grabbed a snack from the fridge and made a beeline for the stairs.

"Oh shut up!" He said as he tried to hide a blush creeping up his face with no luck as he walked past his mother who was still smiling as he left.

"Teenagers." She said quietly to herself. As she smiled on e more at her mother's intuition.


	3. The Black Belt

Disclaimer:I do not own kingdom hearts and any of their awesome characters

The Black Belt

~ At the Strife Household

" There it goes again! " Cloud said as he shushed everyone. Everyone in the room gave him a strange look as he listened for what seemed to be a nonexistent noise.

" Honey this is what happens when you play too much video games. You get paranoid " Tifa said as she looked at Cloud worriedly.

" I know I'm not crazy! " He said as he let his guard down when the noise seemed to stop.

" Well you stuck with mom all these years. " Vanitas said without looking up from his cereal.

Suddenly the house phone collided with his head.

"What was that?" Tifa said as she held another household item in her hand waiting to be thrown.

Vanitas threw up his hands in surrender on the floor.

"Hey mom?" Olette asked. "How DID you and dad meet?"

"Well it's a funny story actu-" Tifa replied smiling at her husband.

"And on that note I take my leave" SoraD said as he interrupted and snatched his breakfast and started to head out.

"Why are kids always in some sort of rush?" Cloud said.

"Well Sora has a girlfriend now, don't you Sora?" Vanitas said as he reclaimed his seat while holding his forehead.

"She's not my girlfriend" Sora replied with a straight face.

"Who are you talking about Sora?" Their little sister Olette chimed in. "No one" he replied. He looked at Vanitas and mouthed the words shut up, never breaking eye contact.

Oh are you talking about that girl that lives acro-"

"Ok I'm off for real this time" Sora said as he interrupted again and picked up his bag, finished the rest of his breakfast and walked outside.

"Have a nice day." His mom called out after him

The air outside was perfect. The sun was shining at just the right point in the sky making all the dew drops on the front lawn visible as they made the grass shine. Sora took in a deep breath as he prepared himself for the day ahead of him. Just as he was about to step out the gate he noticed a familiar head of red hair across the street. Sora looked and to no surprise it was Kairi.

"Kairi!" He called out to her. However she kept on walking as if she didn't hear him. He then crossed the street and started to jog to catch up with her. When he did he grabbed her shoulder and instantly regretted it. Stars started forming in Sora's eyes as a fist collided with his stomach.

"Oh my gosh Sora I am so sorry!" She exclaimed while helping him to his feet. "You scared me and I didn't know it was you."

"That's one hell of a punch you got there." he said trying to catch his breath with his hands on his knees.

"I've been taking karate since I was little, I'm a joshu actually." She said with underlying pride.

"Yea I don't know what that is" Sora said as they started walking towards school. Kairi giggled at his awkward expression which was a mix between pain and having to use the bathroom.

"So uh...did you pack a lunch? Cause I have an extra go-gurt in my bag if you want." Sora said trying to lighten the mood. Kairi laughed at his joke as she tried to retaliate with something witty. But failed as he pulled out an actually go-gurt from his side bag pocket.

"No thanks I'm good" she replied smiling

For the next 20 minutes they walked to school and enjoyed each other's company. Sora told jokes and Kairi would laugh at his stupidity.

"We're here" said Sora. "I know what the school looks like Sora" Kairi replied. "Well then" Sora said dramatically enticing another giggle from the girl

"Well my class is about to start soon so I should get going." Said Kairi.

"Where you headed?" Sora inquired.

"Planning on stalking me?"

"A little." He said smirking. Kairi punched him in the arm and started walking towards the school. She looked back and waved at Sora. He waved back until he felt a weight being put on his shoulder. He turned around to find none other than Riku with his arm slung over his own shoulders, looking in the same direction he was looking in.

"She's cute." Riku said as he nodded over to Kairi.

"Don't even think about it Riku!" Sora said as he shrugged him off.

"Relax dude I was just joking" said Riku as he tried holding back his laughter. "I wouldn't make a move on the girl you have the hots for."

"Except I don't have the hots for her. And what are you? Some kind of lame retard? Who says that anymore? ...hots." Sora said as he mumbled the last part.

Unable to contain his laughter anymore, Riku started laughing at his friends rant, ignoring the pokes at his slang.

"Anyway let's go inside lame-o." Said Riku as he made his way into the building.

"... Did you seriously just say that? So out of both of us I'M the lame-o?!" Sora said as he followed behind.

Despite his retort, Sora knew who was more popular between the two of them. Riku had long hair that went a bit past his shoulders and despite his youth was as white as salt. None the less his pretty boy face made him popular with the ladies. He had way more muscle mass than Sora and was a bit taller too. However none of this mattered to Riku as he was still his best friend since young.

As Sora looked at Riku, he couldn't help but feel a strange nagging feeling in his head. Whatever it was didn't sit right with Sora but for the sake of his sanity he dropped the pestering feeling.

~ Later That Day Before Music Class

"PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO PAY YOU?!

"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The mysterious person said as they ran off from the teacher that they were conversing with.

" *Sigh* I need a break." The teacher said as they walked off toward the teachers lounge.

Sora witnessed the whole scene and wondered what could have possibly been so bad but decided it was better he not know.

The bell rang for music class and Sora had just walked in the class to find Kairi already there and sitting in her seat beside him. She had her phone in her hand and didn't look like she knew what was going on around her. He approached her a little too slowly

"Hey Kai-" he started but was suddenly cut off by a swift punch to the crotch.

"OMG SORA IM SO SORRY...AGAIN!" Kairi said as she looked at his figure writhing on the floor, holding his pants as he let out a variety of curses.

"...shit...no no it's fine." He said trying to catch his breath. "It happens. This what they teach you in karate?"

Before she could respond class had started.

"May I be excused?" Sora said in pain.

"Make it quick Sora."

"No guarantees." he replied

The teacher rolled his eyes as he gave him the pass and watched as he half limped away.

~ After Class

" Can we walk home WITHOUT you trying to neuter me?" Sora said as he eyed Kairi carefully

"Scouts honor." She said as she crossed her fingers.

"Good. Then let's get going." He said as he started to walk. But before he got anywhere he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Riku running to catch up with him.

The feeling Sora had felt had returned

"What's up Riku?" Sora said as said boy caught up.

"I'm coming over for dinner tonight and Terra is coming later too."

"Ok cool." Sora said as he turned to Kairi. "Now where were w-"

"Aren't you gonna introduce me?" Riku said

"Ummm yea... Kairi this is Riku, Riku this is Kairi."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Riku."

"I just said that asswipe." Sora said sounding annoyed.

"Jeesh dude relax...you don't mind if I walk with you guys right?" Riku asked out loud.

"Don't see why not." Kairi said.

Sora rolled his eyes as the two began talking and making small talk, all the while excluding him out of the conversation. He pulled out his headphones and started walking at his own pace which eventually had him walking ahead of the two. They all eventually reached the street. Riku and Kairi hadn't noticed that Sora was so far ahead and watched him go inside without looking back.

"What's his problem?" Said Kairi a little confused.

"No clue." Riku replied looking at the door. "Well I'll catch you later then Kairi."

"Bye" she replied walking towards her own house. She took out her phone and started tapping away at the screen

~With Riku

Riku walked through the front door to find Sora's older brother Vanitas on the couch tuning his guitar like usual.

"Yo" Vanitas said raising his eyebrows in acknowledgement to Riku.

"Sup Vanitas." He replied. "Have you seen Sora?"

"Yea he came in like a few moments ago and the conversation went a little something like this"

"Hey Sora."

"Fuck off."

"Love you too."

"And then he went into his room to go jerk off or something, I don't know." He said barely looking up from his guitar.

"Thanks. I'll just give him some space then."

"I would too. Would hate to walk in on that." Vanitas said smirking.

"..."

~In Sora's Room

Bzzzzzzzzzz!

Sora looked at his phone to see an unknown number had texted him. His curiosity got the best of him and he opened the text.

HEY

WHOS THIS?

ITS KAIRI

HOW'D YOU GET MY NUMBER?

SO A GIRL TEXTS YOU AND YOU ASK HOW SHE GOT YOUR NUMBER? LAME :p

COULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF MY MANY STALKERS. I GOT THOSE YOU KNOW.

UM YEA...ANYWAY...IS EVERYTHING OK? YOU SEEMED UPSET. ARE YOU MAD AT ME OR SOMETHING?

Sora pondered at this question. Was he upset? He didn't have it in his heart to tell her he was. Question was...why?

NAH I JUST REALLT HAD TO USE THE BATHROOM LOL

OH OKAY GOOD. BUT YEA IM GONNA GO NOW. HOMEWORK :'(

IM ALLERGIC TO H.W. LOL BUT OK

C YA 3 3 XOXO

LATER XOXO

Sora saved her number and put his phone down. He threw himself on his bed and stared up at his ceiling. It was pretty plain and he had always wanted to paint it differently. Like have the stars and space so whenever he would look up it would be like he's outside. He slung his arm over his eyes and slowly fell asleep

~ Sora's Dream

"I'm sorry Sora, I really am."

Someone was calling out to him but he didn't hear them. All he heard was the sound of his own heart beat pounding against his chest.

"Sora please come back!...SORA!"

Sora jumped out of his sleep and nearly fell off the bed. His face felt wet and he realized he was crying.

"Some dream..."

He wiped his eyes and stretched his tired bones. He checked the time on his phone and found out it was 11:56

"Dinner was at 8...shit."

Usually when Sora sleeps through dinner his mom leaves him a plate of left overs on the kitchen table for him to heat up and eat. He opened his room door and slowly made his way downstairs. He froze in his tracks when he heard noises coming from the kitchen. He knew no one was awake because the lights were out.

Sora carefully proceeded down the rest of the steps, careful not to make any sounds on the creaky wood. His heart started beating faster and faster with every step he took toward the kitchen. When he got there, he mustered up the courage to flick on the lights and reveal the intruders face. Sora couldn't have been prepared for what he saw next.

"...ROXAS?"


	4. Chapter 4- Not so simple, very unclean

Chapter 4

" Roxas? " Sora said unbelievingly.

" Hey Sora. " He replied almost nonchalantly.

" Umm..you wanna explain what you're doing here? " Sora asked

"Getting a snack." He replied.

"I get that. I mean why you're in the house at lord knows what time when you told mom and dad you were still in Japan?" Sora said getting louder as he spoke.

"Jeez Sora relax! And keep your voice down!" He said sorta yelling but whispering at the same time.

"Explain."

"Yea, explain." Another voice was heard in the kitchen only to reveal a smirking Vanitas leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Long time no see bro." He said, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Oh wow, you proud of yourself for that entrance? Yea real cool." He said as he shoved a piece of bread into his mouth. "Now if you guys want to talk, I'll answer any questions you might have...in MY room."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Whatever."

"Alright let's go. QUIETLY might I add!" He said in a hushed yell

They all slowly crept up to Roxas's room careful not to step on the creaky floorboards as Sora was before. Just as soon as Sora, the last one going up the stairs, reached the top, a loud and resonate sound was heard through the house.

"THUDDD!!"

Roxas and Vanitas both turned with as much annoyance as a face could contort to.

"WTF WAS THAT?!!" Roxas said still whispering as not to wake up the parental bodies a literal 10 feet from the boys.

"It was dipshit over there." Vanitas defended as he turned to Sora.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Yea sorry, I'm just tryna get these firecrackers going don't mind m- the fuck did you think it was I just stubbed my freaking toe" Sora replied sarcastically, the frustration apparent on his face. The other two boys couldn't help but chuckle.

That was Sora's gift. Since he was young he could put a smile on anyone's face and make anyone laugh no mater the circumstance. Once when Sora was younger, he and Riku were inside they're school at night to get back Riku's wallet and had gotten busted. They walked out with a slap on the wrist and $5 to go get sea-salt ice cream all because Sora had mad the cops laugh so hard that they let them go. Ever since then Riku has told him that he has the "Key to all locks" or something like that.

Once the boys had made it up the stairs, they flawlessly entered Roxas's room without a sound. He closed the door behind them and continued eating the food he had collected from the kitchen.

"Wait are those the left overs mom left me?" Sora questioned.

"...no" Roxas replied continuing to eat.

But before Sora could have a tantrum he silenced him with the promise of $40 for tomorrow so he could eat whatever he wanted.

"Well spill" Vanitas chimed.

"Alright well I guess you guys have been wondering where I've been. Truth is things didn't work out so well in Japan and I had to come back early. But I couldn't come home and tell mom and dad. I wouldn't be able to look at them in the eyes anymore. So as I was at the doorstep, about to accept my fate, I noticed the door had been left unlocked and that no one was home. So I did what any young adult who doesn't want to face their parents would do... I hid." Roxas explained as he took a seat on his bed.

"So how have you been eating?" Sora asked.

"Yea and how have you not been caught yet is the better question. What do you do here all day." Vanitas added.

"Easy. At night I get a whole bunch of food and keep it here to last me till the following night. And as for you Vanitas have you never heard of wifi? I'm 20 with no job. Fill in the blanks." Roxas responded never putting down the food he was eating.

The three sat in silence as they thought about the information that was just revealed. For about 3 mins all you could hear was the ticking from the clock in the room. This of course didn't last long.

"So like, was everyone in Japan animated like regular people or like dbz or something?" The boys laughed as they had before Roxas had left for Japan. Despite the teasing and jokes they really did love each other and would go to the ends of the earth for each other as well. They sat around catching up and laughing until 4 in the morning. Time was nothing but a concept to them until they say the sun start to rise.

"Ah shitttt I have school in the morning!" Sora realized.

"Don't you mean in like 3 hours?" Vanitas had asked.

"I would offer you a ride to school but... you know lol." Roxas laughed.

"Is that what they do in Japan ? Say lol as if it was a word? Regardless I'm going to try to get some sleep." Sora retorted.

"Alrighty well goodnight fellas"

The boys all dispersed into their separate rooms

The second Sora touched his bed he fell asleep. If he was gonna get any chance at sleep, he had to go for it now.

When Sora awoke, his alarm was blaring as usual and the sun was directly in his face due to his window. He looked around and saw $50 sitting on his dresser. He couldn't help but smile as he read the note his brother left him.

" Keep the change dude, Roxas"

Sora put the note in his wallet and started to get ready. Just as he was pulling his shirt over his head, he got a text from Kairi.

WALKING ME TO SCHOOL TODAY?

DUH

LOL OK JUST WAIT FOR ME IN FRONT

OF COURSE MILADY

Sora put his phone down smiling. He looked out his window and noticed that Kairi's window is directly across from him. He saw her through the window chuckling at her phone and in turn smiled with pride. He finished getting ready and headed downstairs. He entered the kitchen and found his family in their usual places eating breakfast. He didn't want to be late to Kairi so he picked up his plate and went upstairs.

"Where are going with your plate hun?" His mom asked.

"Upstairs"

"Care to tell me why?"

"Nope"

"Fair enough"

"You know back when I was a kid, we didn't even have stairs. We had a rope connected to the ceiling we had to climb every time we wanted to go up and down" Cloud chimed in.

A collective groan echoed through the house as everyone rolled their eyes at him.

"You can't expect us to believe that right?" Olette said as a matter of factly.

"We also had belts for rude children." He added.

Sora took this as his chance to escape from his dad's ramblings about the past and to slip upstairs. He ascended the stairs with his plate in his hand along with a glass of orange juice, his favorite and walked to Roxas's door. He performed a special knock and entered the room.

" Mom and Dad know you up here?" Roxas not phased by his appearance in his room.

"Nah. Just came to give this to you." Sora said as he placed the plate and glass next to Roxas's bed.

"Garsh Sora! Hyuck I don't know what to say" Roxas said in his best Goofy voice.

Sora laughed as he said thank you for the money and exited the room as he trotted down the steps.

Sora ran to Kairi's house and waited. Minutes went by and still no sign of Kairi. He opened his phone and clicked her contact name. Just as he was about to call her she appeared almost out of nowhere in front of Sora apologizing for being late.

"It's cool" Sora said looking at his watch. They were now a half hour late. Sora didn't mind as much since he was buying something to eat anyway but that quickly changed when he looked across the street and saw his family lined up at the front window with creepy smiles on their face. "Let's just go ok ?" He said hurriedly as he pushed her along.

A few minutes passed and they were in the local fast food restaurant with breakfast. Sora looked around and noticed the reason why he never came to fast food joints...they were filthy. The walls were a discolored version of what they used to be. The floors were stained with some unknown substance that was never coming out. Both bathrooms looked like a zoo and you'd probably catch something using one anyway. Every table has some type of graffiti on it, none of it suitable for children under 13. The customers were no better. Everyone on line was either just there for coffee dressed in business suits who were rude to the employees or someone who had clearly needed to stop coming there.

Sora continued looking around until his eyes landed on the blonde behind the counter. She had long flowing hair which looked like the girl from that Disney about hair or something. She was cute and looked awfully familiar. Sora was starting to piece together where he knew her from but was interrupted by a swift jab to the stomach.

"Would you like some binoculars to help you stare better?" Kairi said as she poked fun at Sora.

"Huh, oh no I was just thinking how familiar she looked."

"Uh huh" said Kairi sarcastically.

Sora stood there confused. He was sure he wasn't staring. Ok well maybe but not for long. His thoughts were interrupted by his stomach growling. Before he could gripe about it, he noticed he was at the front.

"Hi, welcome to Traverse Palace, how may I help you?" The girl said very unenthusiastically.

"Dang, they must pay you a lot say that every time." Sora joked

The girl whose face was in a grimace smiled at him and said " Well what else pays for my mansion?" She replied just as witty.

Sora smiled as the girl leaned closer to the counter giving him a nice view of her cleavage. "Well Mrs. Mansion can I have a mocha frappe?"

"You can have whatever you want" she flirted leaning over even further.

By now Sora was sure she was flirting. He watched as she turned around and walked to the back all the while swaying her hips. A blush creeped up Sora's face as he looked away. He looked at Kairi to catch her look away at him.

"Did she see that? Of course she did she was right there. Wonder what she's thinking."

Sora didn't have time to ponder too long because the girl was back and she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Ahem" she coughed.

"Thanks, how much do I owe ya?" Sora asked

"It's on me" she winked.

"Oh wow, thanks..." Sora smiles. He read the name tag on her shirt to see it say "Xion"

"No problem..." she gestured to him to say his name.

"Sora" he replied.

"Sora, nice name. Have a good one." She smiled and waved.

"You too." Sora said as he and Kairi started walking towards the exit.

"Shoulda got her number, Casanova." Kairi chimed.

"Nah not my type" Sora quipped back

"Oh really? What is your type then mr bigshot?"

"You" Sora thought.

But just before Sora was about to give her an answer that was not that a voice called out to him.

"Yo, Sora!"

The feeling had once again came back.


End file.
